The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Azalea, botanically known as Rhododendron hybrida, an evergreen greenhouse-forcing type, and hereinafter referred to by the name `Christine Matton`.
The new Azalea is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Kruishoutem, Belgium. The objective of the breeding program is to create new potted Azelea varieties that root well and are easy to grow and have uniform plant habit, dark green foliage, numerous flowers with unique flower color, and stay in flower for a long period of time.
The new Azalea originated from a cross made by the Inventor in 1990 in Kruishoutem, Belgium, of the proprietary seedling selection of Rhododendron hybrida identified as 0020 as the female, or seed, parent with an unidentified seedling selection of Rhododendron hybrida as the male, or pollen, parent.
The new Azalea was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Kruishoutem, Belgium. The selection of this plant was based on its very dark green shiny foliage, unique flower color and freely branching growth habit.
Asexual reproduction of the new Azalea by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Kruishoutem, Belgium, has shown that the unique features of this new Azalea are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.